Chris Schwalm

cjschw

Chris Schwalm

Travelling is a passion of mine and I think it is one of the best things you can do for yourself. I got interested in other cultures at a young age when I visited a friend in Egypt. I did a few months trekking around Europe after college. Then a few years later I went for a year long solo trip around the world. That was sooooo amazing (the bulk of these blogs are from that trip). Since then I met an amazing woman (Haley) and she and I try to visit at least one new country a year (more like 2). Check out my stuff, I hope you enjoy it.


...get out there and experience the world!



Asia » Sri Lanka » Central Province » Nuwara Eliya October 5th 2010

- Yala National Park - Thump, thump, thump. Haley and I quickly look up at the ceiling of our bungalow in Sri Lanka's Yala National Park. We had not planned on seeing any wildlife until our safari tomorrow morning, but the noise on our roof clearly wasn't from the White-breasted Kingfisher we saw earlier - or the wild boar that chased us unto our porch just 30 minutes ago. It was a large troop of monkeys that decided to have a party on our roof (without our consent). Haley and I eagerly ran from window to window checking out our new housemates! Once the troop moved on, we called for an escort to dinner (apparently we had to watch out for elephants roaming through the resort grounds and the hotel required escorts at night) and then ... read more
Gem worker
Hindu Temple
Tsunami Sign

Asia » Sri Lanka » Southern Province » Unawatuna October 5th 2010

crash....a weary traveler wipes the sleep from his eyes and looks out the glass veranda....crash....the sun has not yet broken the skyline so he has no idea what time it is...crash...he looks at the woman next to him, a woman that he will spend the rest of his life with, and he smiles....crash....they are so far from home and just beginning what promises to be and incredible honeymoon, and an even incredible life...crash...a honeymoon that is made even better by the rhythmic crashing of the Indian Ocean, that can be clearly heard from their room just a few short steps away. So beings our first stop on the honeymoon, a trip that I had been planning for my wife and me in secret for 6 months now. A trip that has taken us to the remote ... read more
Palm trees
Stilt fishermen
Curry platter

Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Interlaken January 17th 2010

Interlaken, Switzerland Interlaken is a small town tucked away between two huge alpine lakes in the Swiss Alps. When the weather is warm it is an outdoor enthusiasts dream - with everything from skydiving to zoorbing (going down a hill inside of an inflated ball). I spent just under a week here after my adventures in Spain and France (and it was COLD!). I had previously spent almost two weeks here during my last trip to Europe, and had an absolute blast! I was eager to see what it would be like in the winter. Skiing One of the main things that I wanted to do in Interlaken was ski. It has been a while since I had a chance to ski on some real mountains, so I was pretty excited about the opportunity. I didn’t ... read more
Grindelwald, Switzerland
Interlaken, Switzerland
Milan Galleria

Europe » France » Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur » Saint-Raphael » Brugge January 13th 2010

I love Brugge! How could you not? What is Belgium known for…umm let me fill you in…the most amazing beer in the world, chocolate, mussels/frits, and waffles (well among other things). My goal for the short weekend I spent in Brugge was to consume as much of the before mentioned food/drink as possible….and I have to admit, I did pretty well for myself! I hopped on a train from Paris (Nord) to Brugge early Saturday morning (2.5hrs), which put me into the small historic city around 10:30 in the morning. I had spent all my time the night before researching the Belgium beers and unfortunately didn’t have any place to stay that night. So my plan was to first find a bed for the night and then start my world wind tour of the city. It ... read more
I love Belgium
Waffles!!
Brugge City Center

Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona January 5th 2010

Back on the road…. finally! For the past 1.5 years I have been going to school in the evenings (and weekends) to get my MBA. Needless to say it has really cut into my ability to travel, among other things. So when the opportunity to spend a few weeks in Europe “studying” came…well I jumped on it! So here I am back in Europe after 8 years. My last trip here was after I graduated from William and Mary, my friend Tony and I spent a few months doing the backpacking Eurorail thing. I was eager get back here and check things out after being away for so long. So the plan was to spend 3 weeks traveling to 4 countries in Europe with a study abroad program called Forum-Nexus that is based out of two ... read more
La Sagrada Familia
New Years 2010
Collage


So now that I am back in school (MBA) I get a "Spring Break", so this year for spring break Haley and I took a trip down to Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). T&T are a set of Caribbean islands just off the coast of Venezuela. Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the main islands; Tobago is much smaller, comprising about 6% of the total area and 4% of the population. I was very interested to check out this somewhat off-the-beaten-track tropical island. It was a little more difficult to gather information and plan this trip because T&T is not a typical tourist destination…which excited Haley and me even more! We were also looking forward to finding a little culture down there, T & T’s demographics lean heavily towards "Indo-Trinidadians" followed closely by "Afro-Trinidadians". I ... read more
Charlotteville
Seascape
Maracas Bay Beach

Africa » Egypt » Sinai » Dahab January 5th 2009

We left Luxor on a late night flight out of the local airport and arrived in Sharm El Shek around 11:30pm. We had arranged for a driver from our hotel to pick us up but he was no where too be found. So here we are, sitting at the local terminal at midnight in Sharm, Egypt trying to figure out how the hell we were going to get to Dahab (which was over an hour away). Luckily I was able to borrow the cell phone of a local, call our hotel and sort out the issue. After another 20 minutes a 25 year old guy showed up in his car saying he was our driver. So we load up our gear and head out. Just outside of the airport we turn off of the main road ... read more
Relaxing on the Beach
Sinia Mountain Range
Typical coast line shot

Africa » Egypt » Lower Egypt » Cairo December 31st 2008

Haley and I had to end our Christmas celebrations with my family in Stanton VA a little early so that we could begin our long trek to Egypt. After a 3 hour drive, a 5 hour bus ride, and a 10 hour flight we arrive in Cairo. A trip that only took us a day or so, but when we stepped out of the airport we both felt a world away. I am continually amazed that I can get into a plane in New York City and step out of it 12 or so hours later in Ancient Egypt, or China, or South Africa. A completely different culture connected by just a flight. I love it. Egypt is some place special to me. I actually came here a long time ago (when I was 14 or ... read more
Cairo Rooftop
Saqqura Pyramid
Haley at the Pyramid

North America » United States » Oregon June 28th 2008

We took full advantage of Tims' hospitality and not only showered but washed some of our clothing. Amber was actually ended up doing it and she turned it into a bit of a game - "who has the dirtiest clothing". The level of dirtiness was measured by how many rinses it took before the water didn't turn black anymore. I am proud to say that the original Schwalm family (jeff and I) both tied at like 5 rises (which is pretty damn dirty) - the water was disgusting (poor Amber). Healdsburg, CA (Sonoma) We got a late start that morning and headed out to Sonoma. He hadn't been on the road for more then 30 minute when we made a stop at the first (of many) breweries (Sudwerks). I have to admit, I really love having ... read more
Flight of Beer
Clovers
Wine Time!!!

North America » United States » California June 24th 2008

My brother and his wife are both teachers so they are blessed with a summer break. This year for their break they went on a cross country trip, I was lucky enough to convince them to let me join the road trip for the Las Vegas, Nevada to Portland, Oregon leg. It is very much a national parks and camping oriented trip which suited me very well as I have been eager to do some camping. Las Vegas Las Vegas, the city of sin. This was very apparently to me - the sleepy-eyed backpacker who arrived at Planet Hollywood at 1:30 in the morning, exhausted, toting a huge backpack with all my camping gear - getting funny looks from a limo full of girls dressed to the nines walking into the hotel at the same time. ... read more
Scenic View
Peak of Half Dome
First stop on the way to Death Valley




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